Type 2 diabetes: questions and answers
Q: How common is type 2 diabetes?
A: Type 2 diabetes represents 85-90 per cent of all cases of diabetes. The first national diabetes and lifestyle study, AusDiab, shows that the number of people with diabetes in Australia has increased by more than 300 per cent within the past 20 years from 250,000 to the present one million.
Q: Can you catch diabetes?
A: No. Diabetes is not a contagious disease. However, a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes is having a blood relative with type 2 diabetes.
Q: Can anything be done to lessen the chances of getting type 2 diabetes?
A: Yes. Research has shown that by eating healthy foods and taking regular exercise, that is, leading a healthy lifestyle, type 2 diabetes can be delayed and even prevented.
Q: What causes type 2 diabetes?
A: Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas is not producing effective insulin. Type 2 diabetes is known to be promoted by lifestyle factors such as an unhealthy diet and a lack of exercise contributing to obesity.
Q: Can type 2 diabetes be cured?
A: As yet there is no cure. While researchers throughout the world are confident a cure for type 1 diabetes will be found in the not-too-distant future, there is still a long way to go in finding a cure for type 2 diabetes.
Q: Who usually gets type 2 diabetes?
A: Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in adults over the age of 50 but increasingly is occurring at a younger age.
Q: What are the risk factors for type 2 diabetes?
A: Type 2 diabetes is most likely to occur if you:
- are over 45 and have high blood pressure;
- are over 45 and overweight;
- are over 45 and have one or more family members with diabetes;
- are over 55;
- have heart disease or have had a heart attack;
- have had high blood sugar levels during pregnancy (gestational diabetes);
- have had a borderline high blood sugar test;
- have polycystic ovary syndrome and are overweight;
- are Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander aged over 35; or
- are a Pacific Islander, from a Chinese cultural background or from the Indian sub-continent and are aged over 35.
Q: Do people with type 2 diabetes require insulin?
A: Type 2 diabetes is usually controlled by healthy eating and regular exercise; some people with type 2 diabetes may require tablets, while others may require insulin injections.
Q: What are the symptoms?
A: Symptoms of type 2 diabetes are often mistaken for part of the ageing process, however it is possible to have diabetes with no symptoms!
Symptoms include:
- feeling tired and lethargic;
- feeling always thirsty;
- urinating excessively;
- numbness or tingling in the feet or legs;
- blurred vision; and
- frequent infections.
Q: Can diabetes cause long-term damage?
A: Yes. Untreated or poorly managed diabetes can lead to a number of complications.
- Damage to the eyes leading to loss of vision.
- Artery damage increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke.
- Kidney damage.
- Nerve damage in the toes and feet, increasing the risk of amputation.
- Impotence in men.
- Pregnancy complications.
Last Reviewed: 08 July 2003
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